Packers' questions unanswered

GREEN BAY, Wisc. – On Friday afternoon, the world had Ted Thompson figured out.

"You know, everyone thinks they have you pegged" a visitor said to the Green Bay Packers general manager, who was sitting in a meeting room at Lambeau Field.

Thompson grinned and gave a half shake of the head. Roughly 24 hours before the NFL draft was set to begin, he'd heard the names that had already been punched into his roster like rivets. Cal running back Marshawn Lynch and Oakland Raiders veteran Randy Moss – these were two guys who held so much potential for the Packers this weekend. This despite Thompson maintaining there were too many variables to count on anything, and that he wasn't going to deviate from his draft plan and go on a forced offensive binge … even for returning quarterback Brett Favre.

"We're happy Brett's our quarterback," Thompson said Friday, delivering the shot of diplomacy to numb the pain of his draft philosophy. "But the whole draft, it's whatever we think is best for the team. If it's best for the team, it's best for Brett."

So while analysts like ESPN's Steve Young chattered about the Packers dedicating vital parts of their board to offense – if only to placate Favre – Thompson embraced his own design, which needless to say, wasn't as celebrated as the hype. By the time the NFL draft was over, Moss was property of the New England Patriots; the Packers had spent their first-round pick on an injury-prone defensive tackle; and the rest of the NFC North had added dynamic offensive pieces: Calvin Johnson with the Detroit Lions, Adrian Peterson with the Minnesota Vikings and Greg Olsen of the Chicago Bears.

If anyone wanted to know what the Green Bay fan base thought about this, one needed only to loop the images of the group that had collected in the Lambeau Field atrium. The balance of the Green and Gold faithful almost keeled over when Thompson selected Tennessee defensive tackle Justin Harrell, drawing a collective "Who!?"

Faces twisted in disgust. Some smacked their foreheads. Others thrust their two-thumbs-down evaluations into the air. At the same time, within the bowels of Lambeau, Packers beat writers, radio personalities and television reporters all quizzically went in search of scouting reports.

"I didn't even have him in my top five," said one reporter, remarking on his list of potential first-round picks for Green Bay.

Clearly, Green Bay fans expected more, too. Some wanted plummeting Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn. Others liked the playmaking ability Olsen would have brought to the tight end spot. And then there was the contingent that craved whomever the analysts told them was a good choice, maybe a big receiver like Tennessee's Robert Meachem or LSU's Dwayne Bowe.

By the time Thompson made his way to the atrium after tabbing Harrell, his only saving grace was that ESPN wasn't doing a live shot of his address to the crowd. It was arguably worse than the nasty reception Miami Dolphins' coach Cam Cameron received when he tried to sell his pick of Ted Ginn Jr. over Quinn.

"[Harrell] is a good citizen and a good man, which is what I told the people out on the atrium – who booed me, by the way," said Thompson, whose philosophy is to take the best player available. "I told the people out there – when I was trying to get them to quit booing me – I think he has the potential to have been a single-digit pick."

It was a predictable reaction. Even in today's NFL environment, selling "good citizen," "good man" and "potential" to a draft mob is like suggesting that a starving man eat the parsley off a plate of filet mignon.

So what was troubling about the Packers' weekend? Well, if you believe in pre-draft evaluations (which are a weak substitute for the next few years of actual production), then Green Bay really didn't provide any definitive answers to the question marks orbiting Favre and the Packers' offense.

Instead, the Packers rolled the dice on Nebraska running back Brandon Jackson, a player who ran in a zone-blocking scheme (used by the Packers) and who has some nice shiftiness. However, he has also suffered torn labrums in each shoulder, both requiring surgeries. Then there's James Jones, a 6-foot wideout from San Jose State who has all the makings of a possession receiver. And David Clowney, another 6-foot wideout with good deep speed who was never able to consistently tie down a starting job at Virginia Tech.

Boiled down? The Packers went in with question marks on offense, and left largely in the same position. Maybe Jones and Clowney can break into the receiving rotation. Maybe Jackson can be a starting running back.

"Football is a relative game," offensive coordinator Joe Philbin said. "When you see a guy that has a lot of success in college, you've got to believe if he had an opportunity, if he has enough physical talent, that he can do it in the NFL. Having said that, hopefully if [Jackson] can pick up our system quick enough, I think he's got a chance to help us. … How much? Does that mean 22 carries a game or seven carries a game? That's to be determined."

To be fair to Thompson, his board was cannibalized by other teams. He missed out on Lynch, who almost surely would have been the opening day starter, after Buffalo grabbed him at the 12th overall pick. Then he watched two coveted wideouts, South Carolina's Sidney Rice and USC's Dwayne Jarrett, get plucked with the 12th and 13th picks of the second round while the Packers sat at No. 15. At that point, the offensive talent flattened out so much that Green Bay chose to trade back rather than reach with its second pick.

Maybe the most discouraging thing for Packers fans about this draft will be the question marks. Harrell had multiple injuries at Tennessee, including a broken ankle as a redshirt freshman and a torn biceps as a senior. In between, he posted solid sophomore and junior years, ultimately the part of his résumé the Packers based their selection. But as many teams have found out the hard way, drafting a player on junior tape and speculating what they would have done during phantom senior campaigns can be an immense gamble. Particularly when you don't know what would have surfaced with one more year of college. But this was one risk the Packers were willing to take. Almost emphatically.

"He was a guy that we really coveted at 16," coach Mike McCarthy said. "You know, I think a lot's been said about where he would be if he didn't have the injury in his senior year. And I've said it over and over again, we're going to build this football team strong with the offensive and defensive line, and we've added another excellent football player, an excellent prospect to that defensive line group."

If anything, maybe this draft reveals a few things about the Packers that nobody outside of Green Bay truly took into account heading into this weekend. They passed on Quinn and every other quarterback in this draft, which sends a signal that Thompson still backs Aaron Rodgers as Favre's successor. Green Bay also invested two of their four first-day picks (including their first rounder) on defensive players, which shows Thompson is sticking to his "what's good for the team is good for Brett Favre" philosophy. And Thompson passed on Moss when he could have conceivably had him for a third-round pick, which lends credence to his assertion that he puts a lot of weight into character and chemistry.

As Thompson put it Friday, "It doesn't matter who the quarterback is, who the coach is, or who the general manager is, for that matter. You can't change your philosophy on doing what's right for the team."

But after watching the rest of the NFC North add offensive pieces, and seeing Moss trade coasts and potential Super Bowl fortunes, Thompson has his work cut out for him. Doing what's right for the Packers is one thing. Convincing everyone else that it's the right thing is quite another.